All Blogs Go to Heaven

This Blog is Dead, Long Live the Blog.

It's been a good run...85 posts over the last year...but i never really expected her to last, in this form, as long as she did. This was the pupae, now we're moving into the chrysalis stage (thank you Freshman Earth Science!).

I've finally built the site i wanted a year ago and if you've stuck around this long, please move over to my new site, www.adammackwright.com. There, you will find my new site, with information on my clothing line, KWblack, and you will find my new blog, The Conglomerate: The Collective Thoughts of Adam Mack Wright. (Presumptious? You betcha!)

Please update your RSS readers, Favorites and most importantly, the links on your own blogs...this should clean things up nicely for you.

See you over at Wordpress.
Adam

The World is Ending this Weekend

That's it. It's all over. We've had 4 straight days of Apocalypse sightings. This is the end of days. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling. Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria.

Paris Hilton allowed Near Children

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

Wow...plenty of these this week...this one is totally fucking ridiculous.

Today's Sign that...well, no it's not

This is just too ridiculous to be a sign of the end of days, but it's also too ridiculous to not post...

Michael Vick Sued for $63 Billion; Al-Qaeda ties Alleged (no, for real, click the link, i couldn't make this shit up if i wanted to.)

Also, i'm not sure if i mentioned this but my Fantasy Football Team's name for this season is Mike Vick's Kennel Club. See how topical i can be?!?

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

Act like you're surprised...i dare you.


(I love Deadspin's take on this. If you like sports and you're not reading this blog, well, you're an idiot.)

Links of the Day

Is it just me or have i posted a lot this week? Things keep coming up that are worth talking about i guess. Check over to Championship Vinyl in a minute because there will be something there too.

This is addictive, and caused me a raging hatred of Rhode Island (neither a Road, nor an Island, discuss.)

Saw the Simpson's Movie last night...really good. Almost every single memorable character made an appearance, including Professor Frink in the first few minutes and some classic Ralph Wiggum moments. "I like boys now!"

Also, i'm on chapter 24 of Harry Potter and i'm thinking about taking the afternoon off to finish it. Call me a nerd but i'm racing to get this done before some jackass tells me what happens. Seriously, that's an offense punishable by a swift kick to the groin. Girl, guy, i don't care. Spoil this for me and i'm giving you a crotch shot. You have been warned.

Also, i know quite a few of the readers here will be playing in our fantasy football league this year and it looks like we still need 5 people or so to play. Let me know if you're interested. Also, if you need help naming your team, here is a highly hilarious and highly inappropriate guide. My team name? Mike Vick's Kennel Club (yes, passport to hell has been stamped. i'm aware.)

Tagged

This feels suspiciously like a chain letter e-mail and i'm more than a little worried about that. 8 wacky things about Adam doesn't really fit in this blog, because, well, this blog is rarely about me. Also, this blog is about things that are not A-OK, and luckily, i am A-OK. BUT, Erin sent this to me and i'm intrigued by it (read: desperately happy to be included) and i think i'll go for it.

THE RULES:
1. Post these rules before you give you the facts.
2. List 8 random facts about yourself.
3. At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names (linking to them).
4. Leave them a comment on their blog letting them know they’ve been tagged!

8 random facts about Adam

1. I was the fastest skater in the Arizona Youth Hockey All-Star game 2 years running. Fastest ice skater...in the friggin' desert. Somewhat of a dubious distinction/backhanded compliment.

2. I take piano lessons regularly...this would be normal if i was still pursuing a childhood talent, but no, I started as a 23-year old.

3. I want to be a lounge singer that sings dirty words to popular songs ie. Total Eclipse of the Heart becomes Totally Ripped a Big Fart, or a gay male version of Piano Man. (John, the real estate novelist never had time for a wife, was talking with Davie, who's still in the Navy...and that's probably why they seem so into each other...)

4. I also think i would be a good stand up comedian and i'm currently working on material.

5. I am colorblind. (I see color, i'm not a dog, i just don't see shades of color very well. By the way, how the hell did we find out that dogs don't see color?)

6. I had a 3.8 GPA in high school and a 3.6 in college without ever doing my homework, reading the required material (i stopped buying books completely at one point) or studying. My 3.8 in high school earned me a class ranking of 185th in my class...them were some smart mutha fuckas in mah class.

5. I have an unhealthy and unmanly obsession with the daily heroics of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. I call them the Trainwreck Trifecta.

6. I was in show choir in high school (singing, dancing, sequins, etc.)...and it was actually a cool thing to do. Nobody believes me but it was.

7. My dream job is to be a fly fishing guide in the summers and a snowboard instructor in the winters, drink dark beer and have a beard at all times.

8. Despite the fact that almost all of my friends are married, i'm fairly confident that i don't have what it takes.

okay, i’m tagging these folks: Ron, Nole, Kevo, Neil, Ben Blakey, and i'm only doing 5 because even these 5 won't respond.

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

This is horrible. And i'm not even going to write my usual little blurb about it because the link i've posted says it soooooo much better.

On The Wagon: Off, then Back on Again

Officially, i made it 55 days. In that time i ran, worked out, lost about 20lbs, changed my philosophy on going out and drinking, made some new friends and launched an entire clothing line. Not too shabby.
I don't know what prompted me to stop the streak...i'm not mad or disappointed in myself and actually, i completely proved to myself that i could do what i set out to do...i can go out, have a drink or two and completely control myself. I can stop, which is what i couldn't do when i decided to stop completely. Since i had that drink (plural, really), i haven't gone off the deep end, haven't had a binge, haven't been retarded, wasted, nor did i blackout. Mission pretty much accomplished.
While i was sober, I went out on about 40 nights of those 55 -- promoting my party -- and realized that not only do i hate going out even more sober than i ever did drunk, but i realized that being wasted in those places all those times didn't make it any more fun. It was pretty much the same whether i was dead sober or completely blitzed. So if that's the case, then why kill your liver and your next day if it's just going to suck the same? These are the realizations that i have come to.
In the last 2 weeks, i had a cocktail on the golf course during "man weekend 07 in Flagstaff" (pictures here), of which all 11 of the other guys i was with were pretty much shitfaced for 48 straight hours. I had a drink at a friends birthday party, a few drinks at my launch party (hey, it was my party) and last Saturday i went on a wonderful day of wine tasting and margaritas with some friends. It wasn't about the drinking, it wasn't about taking shots and acting sloppy, it was just about being social and sharing a social beverage with quality people. It was safe, smart and for the most part, completely under control. Like i said, these are the lessons i wanted to learn.
All that being said, I think today will start a new streak. I am going backpacking in 10 days and need to get in a little bit of shape for that 30+ mile trek. In August, I am going to begin seriously training for the PF Chang's Marathon that occurs in January. And i'm going to actually try and enjoy my family this holiday season instead of making an ass out of myself. Some of them might not be around too much longer and besides, i'll have the big race coming up. I think i'll enjoy it more. The only drinking on my calendar will be the Breckenridge Oktoberfest in September...this will be in another state, with everything in walking distance and with a large group of fun people...as i've said, the wagon has a hard time making road trips.
I don't know what the reaction to this post will be. I know a lot of people were cheering for me to go cold turkey forever and i really thought i would for a while (as in longer than 55 days)...but that was never really the point. This was never about alcoholism or co-dependency. The point was to re-educate myself about my drinking habits and replace alcohol's place in my life with things a little more beneficial to my existence, and i think i've done that pretty well.

Best. Thing. Ever.

This is in a prison... I'd like to see Joe Arpaio institute a Thriller policy at Tent City. Liven that place up a bit...

My Blog's Movie Rating

I found this fun web site will tell you what your blog would be ranked if it were a movie. No surprise here:

Mingle² - Online Dating

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

This is a quote from Daniel Radcliffe, the little shit actor who plays Harry Potter, discussing how much he doesn't mind it when girls just want to say, "I just had sex with Harry fucking Potter!!!":

"Girls who want to go out with me just because I'm famous has never been a problem. I'm 17. I don't care. Obviously, if I wanted a deep and meaningful relationship then I wouldn't want to be going out with somebody who is only with me because I'm an actor, but if you don't a relationship like that then it's fine."

Also, this.

This is Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-d

It's funnier if you say it like you're a goat...

That's a lot of Goat-related carnage...

This Week's Sign that the Apocalypse is Upon Us

I read this story, and then i looked at the dateline, and i said, "Yup, Alabama. That figures..." without the slightest bit of shock.

Links of the Day

There's too much to post or classify in one area so we're going to have a little link party:

If Herpes can kill an elephant, how the hell is Paris Hilton still alive?

An interview with the always-interesting Henry Rollins.

GLAAD weighs in on the new Adam Sandler movie.

I'm working on a Top 5 songs inspired by Hurrican Katrina over at Championship Vinyl. Hoping to have that up by the end of the day.

Also, i received this Fwd'd email today that i thought you all would love:
"This message was actually written by Craig R. Smith not Jay Leno but I think he has a very valid point.

Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....
"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3s of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?'' Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U. S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it...... are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case
scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O. J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way...... Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative." "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
Jay Leno

Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people that need to read
this and grasp the truth of it all."

So because my stomach is full and I have a clean, safe house to rest my head at night, I should be grateful and quit my whining about the people who don't?
Because things are reasonably satisfactory here, I should be pleased that I have it so good and not worry so much about everyone who has it worse? I mean, why worry that people are homeless and starving and dying of AIDS and being murdered and raped while American Idol is on?

Sounds like a good plan to me! I don't know who this Craig R. Smith is, but damn, he would have saved me a lot of stress and concern about other people's well being if i would have just heard from him sooner. Thanks for letting me off the hook, Craig!

HAHAHA. What a bunch of ignorant shit.

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

I want to puke even giving her a second of my time, but this is just too good to pass up. I mean, this just says so much about our society and our way of life and our absolute ignorance about the rest of the world. Its enough to make a guy almost want to strap on explosives and start suicide bombing Hollywood.




"I've been through a lot... blah blah" Somalians and Ugandans have been through a lot. Homeless people and war veterans have been through a lot...the only thing Paris hilton has been through a lot of is blow and cock.

This is Some Darth Vader Shit

Cheney doesn't like to follow rules...

On the Wagon: Day 31

I'll keep this one shorter than the last marathon. Thanks to everyone who commented and/or contacted me privately. I appreciate the backup, the conversation and the support.




Speaking of marathons...i've been running and instead of doing the PF Changs 1/2 Marathon in January, i'm thinking about doing the full. 26.2 miles...could be fun? My friend Kelli is training for a triathlon and has not only inspired me to get off of my ass and do more with my life, she has also offered to go on a run with me.




Also, thanks to Ben for pointing me to this site. I have taken a cue from him and now cannot go for a run without checking it out here first. Here's a few i've done recently:




This morning:










Last week:






Tomorrow:







Sometime in the Future:








So in addition to running and generally trying to keep myself busy here are some other thoughts...




Since i discussed it last week, the adrenaline of the whole situation has worn off. Like a bad breakup or something, i'm having a harder and harder time remembering why i quit and the good times are starting to become the only memories i have. I'm starting to listen to some of the people around me who say i can get away with one drink here and there, or that i could drink one night a week or on special occasions or only when i'm out with them (yes, someone has actually said this to me...). I'm staying strong and i haven't strayed but the weaknesses are appearing in the armour. I watch people drink on TV and in movies and it seems like such a good idea to them. I walk down the wine aisle in the grocery store and think about how nice it would be to have a glass of wine with dinner and just feel a little warm and fuzzy. I'm finding it harder to tell myself that its not a good idea. Like a long-lasting war, i'm having trouble remembering why i even started this fight in the first place. It's a weird phenomenon that i didn't see coming.




Fortunately, i've had some positive reinforcement. Business is booming and i actually feel like i'm contributing for a change. I made the largest sale in K&W Promotions history (albeit a brief history), we are a month away from our fashion show and things are beautifully hectic around the office. I am continuing to lose weight, look and feel better, work out and am getting to the point where, if i keep this up, i could imagine myself almost looking half-way decent around the pool by the end of the summer (sure it's a superficial thing to point out, but it's really the only tangible evidence and daily reminder i have...).




One of the best things i've noticed in this last month is my wallet. I'm not hemorrhaging money the way i used to. I'm not going to say a ton about this right now, but i'm going to look into my financial statements from the last 2 months and compare them...something tells me May is going to look a lot different than June. (Except for the surround sound i bought myself and the new 3-wood.)

On the Wagon: A Running Diary

As a rule, i don't write about myself. I mean, i obviously inject my moods, feelings and anecdotes into everything i write but the main theme is rarely, if ever, me. It was this type of public introspection that first got me into writing and then proceeded to get me into tons of trouble as people checked in on my myspace page or other forums in which i decided to unleash my mental diarrhea out of my fingertips and onto the unsuspecting world. It would just take a few clicks back in time on my myspace blog to get back to years such as 2003 and 2004 in which i bitched, complained and moaned about every shortcoming, rejection and insecurity available. Some of it was poetic, but most of it was pathetic. I wouldn't encourage you to judge me based on those writings, but i would encourage you to take a trip back, even if it's briefly, to see the context in which today's writer came from. Those were some overly-sensitive times for me and now i'm a hardened, cynical, bitter and jaded grown-up in a post-9/11 and currently war-torn world who is fazed by just about nothing and never, ever talks about his struggles, issues or problems anymore, A. Because it's none of your f-ing business, B. Because it never helped in the first place and C. I'm a dick and refuse to put myself in any more vulnerable positions.
For some reason though, i'm going to talk about this and see where it takes us. I want to say that it's for all those other people going through the same thing or having the same thoughts, but that's only partially true. It's for me and me only and who the hell knows why i'm sharing it. Oh well. What will follow over the next few weeks, months, maybe even years, is a running diary of a hopefully sober Adam.

Anyway, as i write this i've been sober for 21 days. No drinks, no drugs, no beer, no shots, no glass of wine with dinner, no beer on the couch watching TV, nothing. The only chemical mood changer i've had in my body over the last 3 weeks is Red Bull, which while it probably isn't good for me, has become my last bastion of alternate consciousness. Pretty lame really. (and ironically, the Red Bull is probably what'll end up giving me cancer and killing me in the next 5 years once they definitively discover just how bad the shit is for you...)

Here's the back story:
I've wanted to stop for a long time. I knew i could be living a better, healthier and wiser life all along. I knew that i have an addictive personality. I knew that my drinking habits affected my past relationships. I knew that i was making decisions on a nightly basis that i wouldn't have made without the help of a few beers or a few cocktails. I knew that my family are heavy drinkers and i knew that i loved absolutely nothing more than watching the Broncos with them while cracking Coors or sitting at a family event drinking even though it was Easter morning or something. I knew that when i went out at night, i was what the American Medical Association kindly referred to as a binge drinker. I knew that i wasn't going to have a few cocktails and know when to stop. I knew that i was going to be blacked out or close to it and i knew that i would feel great the next morning. I knew enough (from experience) to not get behind the wheel but i also knew that i could be persuaded to if the mix of BAC and the proper interest from the female persuasion were combined in the right amounts. I knew that i was spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a month going out, having a good time and feeling no pain. It was a good place and i knew that i could justify it to myself at any time of day, any day of the week and in any situation. I knew that i was 20-25 years of age and more or less completely invincible. This has gone on for a while.

Now let's make one point completely clear. I am not, nor have i ever considered myself to be, an alcoholic. And to completely prove that point, 21 days ago today i quit drinking completely cold turkey and have not had one single physical craving for alcohol. My brain has not compelled me to pour a drink due to the chemical void left behind when i stopped. Addicts crave the substance that they are addicted to. Alcoholics crave alcohol. This has never happened to me. Social constructs (bad day= need a drink, high stress situations=need a drink, out at night = have a drink) have tempted me occasionally but thus far i have not succumbed. I have not had a single withdrawal symptom. My body has not overtaken my mind/willpower and forced my hand to pour a delicious rum and coke, despite the fact that the half-full bottle is still sitting in my liquor cabinet in full view. And i have not even sipped, despite having been purchased drinks. I have had drinks in my hand for extended periods of time in the last 21 days and have not lifted them to my mouth a single time. I don't believe an alcoholic could do this. I have. Hereto, therefore, i am not, nor have i ever been, an alcoholic. This is not one of those admissions. This is not a cry for help, a request for support or an admission of guilt. Let's not go there.

I have done some dipshit things while drunk that i will not go into here. Some people have made a living off of these stories. I am a better writer than that kid and i have much better stories (but seriously, his book is pretty hilarious. Read it, if you haven't. Just because i could do better, doesn't make his book bad...). I could have kicked his literary ass all over the street if i would have chosen that path. I guess i still could but it all kind of seems kinda trivial now.
Anyway, since i stopped some interesting things have happened that i didn't anticipate:

1. I eat better- This was never a conscious decision. It just happened. A month ago, i owned a deep fryer, ate red meat any chance i could get, loved bread and potatoes and wouldn't order a salad for lunch or dinner if my life depended on it. All of a sudden i'm eating salads, checking labels, avoiding certain aisles at the grocery store, buying vegetables to go with my chicken or fish dinner and i'm having fruit as a snack instead of candy or popcorn. Almost every eating decision i've made recently has been impacted by this new thought process. I have no idea where it came from or why. I mentally figured that if i wasn't going to drink then that freed up a shitload of calories in which i could eat more shit that was bad for me. Somehow that wasn't what my body had planned.
   A year ago, i weighed 250 pounds. No joke. Six months ago i weighed 225. A month ago, i was 205. Today, i'm 195. Quit sitting in a cubicle and hating your life 60 hours a week and you lose 30 lbs, start working at a restaurant where you're on your feet all day, lose 15 lbs. Quit drinking, start eating right and working out with the time you used to spend drunk, lose 10 more. That's 55 lbs in a year. Fuck atkins.
2. ADD Disappearance - OK, it didn't disappear...but it's better. For the longest time, i've had no focus. I'm a procrastinator of the highest degree and since i stopped having a hangover, or at least an alcohol induced fog, to hold me back, my focus has improved. A bit. I won't say that it's gone, but it's better. I actually feel good enough to do the things i need to. Maybe the actual ADD is the same, but now i have one less excuse to use when i don't want to do something.
3. Awkward nights out - The first two have been pretty positive but this one is decidedly weird. I guess i should have seen it coming. What breaks the ice when you're meeting someone new? What gets conversation flowing? What makes you feel more comfortable and at ease? What do you drink when you get dinner? What makes you a better dancer and more willing to talk to strangers? What makes the people around you better looking and easier to tolerate? That's right, alcohol. Throw that alcohol out and the shit around you gets very fucking real in a hurry.
   I've enjoyed being a DD lately. My friends have cool cars that they let my drive and they're amazingly funny drunks but really, how much going out can you take without a cocktail? My energy isn't what it used to be, i yawn in mid-sentence after midnight. Things don't seem like such a good idea anymore. And some of the things i used to enjoy are flat out annoying/boring/retarded. C'est la vie...
4. Meeting new friends - Jim Gaffigan has a joke about not drinking...he says, "How do you go out on a date? 'Uh, yes waiter, i'll have water and she'll have a jagerbomb. thanks.'" It just doesn't work. Here's the interesting thing though, and this i really never saw coming. Guys are completely cool with it. I mean, they're flat out awesome. Most of my buddies, my most hardcore drinking buddies, know that i've quit, and i thought they'd be pissed at me and that they'd always be buying me shots or beers and calling me a pussy for not drinking with them. Hasn't happened at all. I am shocked. Most of my buddies will fall on a grenade for me in a second if they see me hesitating or thinking about it. I've had shots and drinks (that people have ordered for me without knowing that i'm not drinking) literally ripped out of my hands by my friends who then proceeded to slam them so i couldn't drink it. They've been amazing.
   Alternately, the girls have been fucking awful. "You sure you don't drink? You can have one, right? You want a sip of mine? Are you sure? Really? Nothing i can do to get you to have one? Have a shot with me? I'm going to get you drunk when you're not paying attention." I mean, i've heard it all. One friend that i went to dinner with the other night was on her second martini before she admitted that she didn't feel comfortable at all drinking when i wasn't. We tried to figure out why she felt that way and settled on a combination of social norms and vulnerability issues. Like if she did something stupid and we were both drunk that it wasn't a big deal, but if she made an alcohol-affected choice and it was all her, then she couldn't use the classic, "We were drunk..." excuse. It was very interesting and i'm curious to see how this sociological experiment continues.
5. The Awkward Explanation - This has been by far my least favorite bi-product of not drinking. Trying to explain to people why i am not drinking sucks. And i've told about 9 different stories depending on the person and my relationship with them. My family got the personal responsibility story, as in "I just decided it was time to lay off..." Some of my friends got the Dr.'s orders story (which is at least mostly true). And other people got a combination of "I was partying too much (true), I was hurting my business being hungover all the time (true), i was getting sick too often (true), i have an addictive personality (true), i have no middle ground. I'm either sober or blacked out (true)" Or some variation on all of those themes. Most of the time i'm scrambling to avoid the word "alcoholic" or the perception that lie their in. (To varying degrees of success of course.)
   I'm not an alcoholic. Alcoholics go to meetings.
6. Rampant Boredom - Jesus television sucks! I mean, it's awful. I don't know what i'm going to do next TV season. I imagine the Office will still be funny sober but i don't know what else i'll watch. Usually i'm 3-4 drinks deep by the time House or Grey's Anatomy (blech) comes on. I think i'll still like Simpsons and Family Guy but i honestly can't see myself watching much else. Probably a good thing. The bad thing is that i'm so ingrained in laying on my couch and being completely entertained by the television that it is a major chore to watch movies, read a book or a magazine, or write. I mean, even writing these blogs were traditionally done with 3 fingers of beautiful amber Crown Royal melting slowly over 4 ice cubes in a crystal rocks glass (*wipes saliva from corner of mouth*). I'm friggin bored with my existence right now and i haven't, as of yet, figured out how to change that. My first attempts were to get my friends to hang out and do sober stuff with me, but that has failed miserably. Eventually i'll start knitting, owning large quantities of cats and going to movies alone. Someone just kill me now.

I think the most interesting part about this has been the self-analysis that it has forced. Why am i drawn to drinking? More importantly, why am i so hung up on altering my consciousness? Do i not like who i am that much that the only way i'm content is to get out of my own head by drinking? I think the answer is -- at least partially -- "yes," which is more than a little scary. The problem, as i see it, is this: I have a writer's personality. I have the brain makeup and personality that is absolutely status friggin quo for a writer. I see things abstractly and without personal affect. My life, ever since i can remember, has been shot from the overhead helicopter view. I've never felt inside my own head. I've never had an authentic, sincere or quality reaction to anything. (I talked about this on my Myspace blog over a year ago. This, apparently, is not new for me.) Everything i say, everything i notice, everything i write has been seen through the wide camera angle. It's really hard to understand if you're not that type of personality, but if you are, then you know exactly what i'm talking about. Some of the most emotional and gigantic moments in my life have felt completely fake to me, like i was outside of my body, watching it happen on TV. Because i don't feel like i'm looking at it from my own eyes or processing it with my own brain. When i'm in those types of situations, i feel like i'm watching myself from another person's view. It's weird and my description is probably not doing it justice. Let's put it this way...i'm not self-conscious in the sense that i'm insecure about myself (trust me, i love me a lot. i think i'm friggin great.) and i'm not self-conscious in that shallow "oh my god, my jeans aren't designer" kind of way either. I'm self-conscious in the way that i'm always thinking to myself, consciously, "How am i acting right now? Is this appropriate? What is this person going to say when i say this? How is this going to come off? What do i look like right now? Are my hand gestures appropriate? Am i smiling an appropriate amount? Am i acting authentic for the situation?" It's weird, but that's the god's honest truth. Even as i'm writing this from my heart, my mind is saying, "Are you saying too much? How are people going to perceive this?" and i'm erasing and rewording accordingly. It's an absolute gift for a writer and an absolute tragedy from the sense of never having authentic experiences in which i react and don't think or over-analyze first. And there's the rub right there. When i drink, i don't think. I do whatever comes to mind, the way most people do naturally. Alcohol lets me back into my own head (or is it out of my own head? I can't decide. If i'm in my head over-analyzing all the time, then it lets me out. If i'm out of my head seeing everything from an outside perspective, then it lets me back in. I can't figure it out. Makes sense though, right?). It lets me react emotionally the way normal people do. If someone pisses me off, i don't let it slide, i fucking yell and stand up for myself and try to fight. I feel anger with justification, i laugh without wondering what it sounds like, i tell stories without wondering if they're stupid or relevant (to varying degrees of success), i actually get to use my own emotions. I get to feel like the way i'm responding is authentic. And if you don't have my personality type, you really have no idea just how fucking good that feels. I don't over analyze, i don't weigh pros and cons, i don't wonder, i just react, immediately and instinctively. I hate to say it, but alcohol lets me be me...

Sometimes this is great. I can't tell you how many people i know, how many solid relationships that have been forged, how many amazing nights i've had under the influence of alcohol. It is the social lubricant. There have truly been some fantastic moments that i would never give up in a million years. Alternately, i, like all other drinkers, have made thousands of regrettable decisions, spoken many regrettable words and most of us are considered lucky to have avoided jail time or syphilis in our lifetimes. It is, simultaneously, the best and worse thing that has ever happened to me.

More thoughts as they come...

The Power of Language

Some people call George Carlin a comedian. I've always called him a philosopher. Most comedians joke about the surface crap that happens to all of us in real life...ie. peanuts on the plane, life cereal, the Burger King drive-thru (Dane Cook sucks by the way, and his comedy is completely indicative of the increasing stupidity of the American public. Good for him for capitalizing on it though...).

Carlin jokes about the real life stuff too but often he digs a few levels deeper than most. He talks about the stuff we don't want to hear. Some say that makes him "shocking" but i just think it makes him honest. He has a platform, and a medium that intends to make people look at things in a humorous way that also makes them agree at the same time, and sometimes he uses that medium to make some very serious points. Even the seven words you can't say on TV, which ended up being a Supreme Court case as vulgar as it is, makes a commentary about what the words are, why some people don't want you to say them, and why language is so powerful that we actual have to ban some of it...

One of my favorite bits ever is when he's talking about the power of language and makes the point that in World War I, when a soldier's nervous system shut down from the strain of fighting, it was called Shell Shock. Tough words...straight to the point...lots of consonants, sounds like something pretty easy to diagnose. Fast forward to Vietnam (and every engagement since) and we're now calling it Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We've added a hyphen, made it sound medical, and we've blamed the victim. The soldiers aren't shocked anymore, they now have a disorder. They weren't shocked by something they saw anymore. Something they saw triggered a disorder they already had. Carlin goes on to make the point that if we have kept it at Shell Shock, maybe we wouldn't treat it so lightly and some of these veterans might actually be getting the help that they need. (Let's see Mr. Cook take a break from Employee of the Month and talk about war for a while eh? Then we'll see who's funny...)

It's a pretty genius sentiment and i truly wish i had thought of it myself. But since i've listened to it about a thousand times, i've started noticing little changes in the language that just seem to slip by unnoticed in this PC world of ours (ie. prostitute becoming sex worker...what's she going to be next? an automated pleasure receptacle?) and trying to call them out when i see them.

I found this story on (who's surprised?) FoxNews this morning: At Least 21 Dead in Baghdad Homicide Bombing

And this same story on the Wall Street Journal Online: Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 21 Iraqis

Notice any difference? Think that that difference in language doesn't change the intention of the story? I would love to hear your thoughts.

I've Never Been Less Surprised

Wow...a stripper from Texas stole money to buy a Nascar team? Who would have ever thought?

The only thing less surprising than this would have been if a stripper stole money to build an octagon in her backyard and scheduled UFC fights...

Also, i decided not to post on this earlier this week but i will now.
Is it bad that before i was even done reading this headline that i was saying in my mind, "You liar. You're so completely full of shit." Shouldn't one have at least a tiny iota of belief in the words of the President of the United States of America??? I mean, just a little? There's not a thing this guy could say to me from now until eternity that i would say, "You know what? He's definitely telling the truth, being completely sincere, and i for one, think he has a point..." Not a single damn thing.

This also pisses me off. Bush uses a fucking HURRICANE metaphor to describe the war?!? Is he serious? And, just like the Britney Spears thing (see below), it's not like Bush is writing his own speeches, but i can't help but blame him. At some point, he's gotta say, "Hey listen guys...i know you're trying to be dramatic and all but i was asleep in my bed when America's shores were destroyed by a friggin hurricane and we kinda looked bad... Ix-Nay on the urricane-Hay OKEY DOKE??"

But he doesn't, so it's his fault. I mean, i guess the metaphor is apt, he's fucked up both things simultaneously, so we can compare them together now...

And while we're at it, is this the only thing the CIA has gotten right in the last decade? Methinks yes.

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

Nothing says spirituality and Godliness more than pasting an inspirational passage thanking people for their prayers OVER YOUR FRIGGIN NIPPLES!!!!

I'm pretty sure Britney isn't in charge of her own photoshop, so she's not responsible for this... although that's pretty funny to imagine:
"Is dis one a dem newfangled 'lectric boxes, like, a TV that i can type on ya'll? Ya'll serious? Shit damn yeah!!! Ya'll get me some pork rinds while i work on this here internets fo a spell..."

But still, i can't help but blame her anyway.

(click on it to read it. I couldn't make it fit. Stupid internets and TVs i can type on.)

(Wow...second one this week. The powers that be are really picking it up lately. )

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

They're really going to let this happen?

Secondly, i actually posted on my sports blog after last night's terrific Suns-Spurs game. Check it out here.

Also, Neil passed this along to me today and everyone should check it out. I honestly don't think that ending the war completely is the right course because it's going to make us look like even bigger assholes than we already are, but we do need to hold the people that made the decisions responsible by voting them out of office in the next election. Check it out:

The Iraq war should never have been started, and it's long past time to end it.

We were one signature away from ending this war, but President Bush defied the majority of Americans and vetoed the legislation. He has shown, again and again, since the invasion began, that he will not listen.

But the will of the American people must be followed. If PresidentBush won't end the war, it's up to Congress -- the representatives of the people -- to end it instead. We need 16 Republican Senators to override a veto -- any 16 of the 49 Republicans can choose the people over their party and decide to end this war.

In 20 states, an incumbent Republican Senator faces re-election in 2008. They will have to make clear very soon whether they will continue to defy the will of the American people.

Now is the time to hold them accountable for their choices on the war.

Barack Obama is doing just that, and you can, too. Make sure they hear your voice too.

Learn how here: http://www.barackobama.com/16votes

Reducing Junk Mail

Not only is it annoying, but it uses up a ton of natural resources. Turns out most of these companies aren't even using recycled paper. They're just cutting down trees and sticking them in your mailbox.

Here's a great link that helped me reduce the crap that stuffed my box every week.

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

Albert Einstein reportedly said this:
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”

And even if he didn't, the theory makes a hell of a lot of sense.

So imagine my wonder when i wake up to this story on the front page of my RSS reader:
Are Mobile Phones Wiping Out Bees?

A few more clicks and i find this story blaming genetically modified crops; and two (1, 2) more explaining Colony Collapse Disorder.

You know, my idea of the end of the world was always far more exciting than this. Something like a nuclear holocaust in which 9 Victoria Secret models and I are the only survivors and I become their fearless, bare chested leader as we hide in Aruba an begin repopulating the earth...
I never really imagined all of us just starving to death. Presidents and Prime Ministers and peasants all sharing the same immediate fate. And yet, this seems 100% more realistic.

Watching Out for Abnormal Behavior

So Bush is pimping the VaTech massacre as a reason to be ever vigilant against random and unsubstantiated threats. The threats of what you may ask? Terrorism? Goth kids?

Well, as usual, he wasn't specific but one can only imagine that by "abnormal behavior" he meant being gay, black, Mexican, Islamic, an environmentalist or a democrat. Also, we can probably safely assume that by getting an abortion, not being Christian, driving a Hybrid car, not eating meat or living in Oregon (sorry guys but anyone who lives there is a pot smoking, socialist hippie as far as he's concerned...) is also "abnormal."

It's these type of blanket generalizations from the Bush administration that i'm really going to miss when their time is up.

VaTech

We've all been oddly quiet about the happenings at Virginia Tech since it happened...whether it be a statement of sadness, a reflection on the fragility of human life or an angry diatribe about psychotically depressed loners lashing out in the worst of ways, i thought someone would write something. But it looks like i'm first.

I don't really have the time or energy to speak as deeply as i'd like to about this (although i'd sure like to find some of both.) but i will say that knowing people who lived through Columbine and growing up in a world where this type of behavior has become increasingly acceptable, that at no time in my entire college career did i go to sleep in my dorm room, walk through campus or attend class with the slightest inclination that someone might go apeshit and shoot me or my classmates. It never went through my mind. And now that i think about it, it was completely possible that it could have happened. It should have happened. In fact, it still might. All the ingredients are in place.

The two schools i attended, CU and ASU, had such a diverse and completely disconnected student population. There were the rich, out-of-state kids (of which i was arguably one) that walk around like their shit doesn't stink and there were the not-so-rich, in-state kids that could have come from anywhere with any type of background. These two colleges were just as cliquey and segregated and unfair as high school was. Maybe worse. I feel that i am a fairly normal and balanced person but there were times at both of those schools where i felt so alone and so brushed aside by every other person around me and so absolutely forgotten about. I'm a generally happy and decent person and if i felt this way at times, i can only imagine the thousands of other students that must have felt/feel the same way, if not hundreds of times worse. It now occurs to me that it is an absolute miracle that a similar massacre has not happened before and does not happen more frequently.

With that said, this was not my intention in this post. My intention was to call attention to this screen capture of MSNBC that i just saw:




I don't know how well you'll be able to see it (click on it and it'll get bigger) but the image above is from the main page of the Va Tech story on MSNBC.com in which 33 people, including the shooter, died. Now i'm not diminshing the loss of human life at all. A life is a life is a life. They're all equal in my book and one person being killed is one too many as far as i'm concerned but what kills me (sorry, bad term) is the story at the bottom of the column that says "Top MSNBC Stories." If you can't see it, again, i'll tell you what it says... "183 killed in a 4 Baghdad Blasts."

183?!?!?! One Hundred and Eighty Fucking Three! Our nation goes into mourning and the President drops everything to go to the college and speak when 33 people are killed, yet every single day a headline like the Baghdad one slides right by on the ticker and we barley even fucking blink. This is so typical and indicative of everything that is wrong with this country, our society and humanity as a whole.

1,200 people died in Hurricane Katrina and we're still talking about it. And we'll still be talking about it during this entire summer's hurricane season and during next year's Super Bowl in New Orleans. When's the last time you heard about, or even thought about, the 250,000 people killed in the Indonesian Tsunami? That's a quarter of a million people just wiped off the face of the earth and we declare a national day of mourning for 33?

3,000 people died on 9-11 and we've killed somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 times (and counting) that many, just to get even for it. That would be like us bombing South Korea because of what this kid did. Seems stupid right? Well, we're doing it every day. (And don't put it past ol Georgie to think about attacking Seoul. Honestly, would it surprise you?)

Mothers die by the thousands from AIDS in Africa. Millions of people are killed in Ugandan genocide. Hundreds of thousands of children die every day from starvation. And the U.S. is getting letters of condolence from every leader in the free world for 33?!?

I'm not taking anything away from those 32 (i'm not counting the murderer, fuck him) people who were killed this week. Don't get me wrong. Their lives were stolen from them selfishly by a sad and ignorant person who needed attention and that is an absolutely tragedy if and whenever it happens.

All i'm saying is that something isn't right with this picture. Something is Majorly. Fucked. Up.

Today's Sign That The Apocalypse is Upon Us.

German Technology VS Arab Technology

Now i know this isn't really a VW commercial but someone still took the time to make this...

Not sure how i feel about it. I guess i could be mad if i want to be all PC but some part of me wants to think its hilarious and well-placed satire.

Any thoughts?

RIP Kurt Vonnegut

One of my (our) favorite writers has died. He was 84.

RIP Kurt Vonnegut

Update: Check out this story about Vonnegut working at Sports Illustrated. Too funny.

Good News of The Week

Because we do so much negative stuff here. This is something i can smile about: Hank Aaron tells Barry Bonds to Fuck Himself.

Holy F-ing Shit

This can't be real can it? Are we really going to attack Iran? Aren't we in deep enough shit as it is? Who's running this place? (Although the site isn't the most reputable, it's still kind of insane if there is even a fraction of truth here.)

I often joke here about the world ending and i don't want to be overly dramatic, but this could really be it right? I mean, we're talking about attacking a huge country with a big army and developed weapons systems who is run by a batshit crazy leader who outwardly hates jews, western culture and has given speeches about the Holocaust being a myth. This can't end well.

If the shit hits the fan, i'm getting out of the big cities and heading to Bend, Oregon. Think you guys can get a room ready for me? ha.

Today's Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

This one actually makes me really hope that the world is ending. If you make it to the end of this, you might want to schedule an appointment with a therapist.

Amazing Finish

This doesn't really belong here but i post on my sports blog like once every 3 months and it's pretty much what i'd call "defunct" so i'll just put it here so people can see it.

This is the ending to the NCAA Division II finals and it's pretty unbelievable. This kid scores 10 points in the last 45 seconds including two Reggie Miller-like steals for the win. I can't believe this isn't a bigger story, actually. If you like sports even an iota, you'll enjoy this:

The WTF Award of the Week

Alright, the computer is stumbling along well enough to post a small entry. I'm still trying to get this week's Shuffle posted on Championship Vinyl but i think i may just push it to next week. This week's kind of a lost caust anyway.

So this is just batshit crazy. Enjoy.

Today's Sign that the Apocalypse is Upon Us

Harry Potter Fan Stalks Actress, Apparently Her Magical Powers Could Not Prevent It

Listen, i think she's cute too, but she's a fucking character in a children's fantasy book for fuck's sake!!!!!!!!!

The Case Against Ethanol

My Dad buys me a subscription to Fly Rod and Reel every year. I like the magazine and i flip through the pictures of big fish, but even though i am a huge fan of fly fishing, i just can't bring myself to read through most of it. I get about 5 other magazines, I am constantly reading one book or another, and usually at the end of the day i like to do something passive like watch one of my DVRed shows instead of reading about fishing a small stream in northern Pennsylvania that i'll never, ever see.

But i was flipping through it this morning over breakfast and this story caught my eye. It's a story, as you'll hopefully read, that talks about how the increase in Ethanol usage will actually be worse for local enviroments than continuing to use fossil fuels, and due to the powerful agricultural lobby, is just as dirty and underhanded in its politics as any of the big oil lobbies. Long term, Ethanol might seem better for our air, and for global warming, but is ruining our topsoils and streams (and in turn ruin our forests, streams, lakes, oceans, underground watertables and killing fish, crustaceans, all the animals that prey on them, and eventually us, etc.) really worth it?

Some good excerpts:
"It all started in 1990 with amendments to the Clean Air Act, revolutionary in that they regulated not just how we burn gasoline but how we make it. In areas out of compliance with air-pollution standards, gasoline had to include at least two percent oxygen-containing chemicals (oxygenates), the better to combust carbon monoxide, toxic hydrocarbons, and smog-producing volatile organic compounds. There were only two choices--ethanol and the petroleum-based methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). This was precisely what the cornbelt had fantasized about and lobbied for. Suddenly the moribund ethanol industry had a future. City air would become breathable. We'd have plenty of fuel. It was going to be a win-win-win.

But instead of cleaning up America, ethanol has added to the mess we're making out of our water and air. Now the Bush Administration has decreed that ethanol replace the far more efficient MTBE as an oxygenate. But with current refining technologies and anti-pollution paraphernalia on motor vehicles there's no need for any oxygenate, a fact the powerful agribusiness lobby doesn't want you to know. Under its withering pressure, Congress and the executive branch have committed the nation to ethanol as both oxygenate and fuel."

and also this one:

"First, no crop grown in the United States consumes and pollutes more water than corn. No method of agriculture uses more insecticides, more herbicides, more nitrogen fertilizer. Needed for the production of one gallon of ethanol are 1,700 gallons of water, mostly in the form of irrigation taken from streams either directly or by snatching the water table out from underneath them. And each gallon of ethanol produces 12 gallons of sewage-like effluent.

Ethanol plants are gross polluters of air and water, and because of the exorbitant price of natural gas some of the new ones will be coal-fired, adding to the already dangerous mercury content of fish. The response of the Bush administration has been a proposal to relax pollution standards for ethanol production. Under the conservation programs of the 1985 Farm Bill and its successors, some farmers are bootstrapping their way toward sustainable agriculture, but corn production still erodes topsoil about 10 times faster than it can accrete.

The toxic, oxygen-swilling stew of nitrates, chemical poisons and dirt excreted from the corn monocultures of our Midwest pollutes the Mississippi River and its tributaries, limiting fish all the way to the Gulf where it creates a bacteria-infested, algae-clogged, anaerobic "Dead Zone" lethal to fish, crustaceans, mollusks and virtually all gill breathers. In some years, depending on seasonal heat and water conditions, the Dead Zone can cover 8,000 square miles. And it's expanding."

It's an intersting read and i'm curious to see what you all think. I know we've all been fed this huge sunny picture about Ethanol, but it's important to realize just how many dollars are being thrown at our politicians and into marketing messages and propaganda campaigns to make us think that it's the magic bullet, when it's anything but.

Hypocrisy Know No Bounds

Newt Gingrich admits to cheating on both of his wives. One instance which occured while he was going after Bill Clinton about Monica Lewinsky.

Anyone surprised?

Today's Sign that The Apocalypse has Been Coming for a While

This is probably the record for most posts in a week but i had to mention this.

So i'm walking through the parking lot towards my office today and i see a bumper sticker that reads, "I (heart) my Wife" buried in amongst the other obligatory bumper stickers about loving jesus and being Christian, etc.

And i know this isn't new but shouldn't i be more interested in a bumper sticker that says, "I Don't (heart) My Wife"? I mean, isn't that the point to getting married, loving your wife? I know it's probably more common to not love her and call me an old fashioned romantic but come on. Do you really need to put in on your bumper? Is that the appropriate place to declare love for one's wife? Are we in such rare and desperate times that a bumper sticker is necessary to set you apart from the divorced and unloving masses? It goes without saying that it's a sad, sad state of affairs.

An Inconvient Truth about Gore's Living Situation

I've never really liked this guy and i've never seen his movie but everyone's jumping on his bandwagon about global warming and how much he's doing for the enviroment without realizing that he's still an asshole politician and will always lie, cheat, steal and bend the truth to further his own career and bank account.

I'm glad global warming and enviromental issues are getting a huge chunk of publicity but it's one thing to talk about and an entirely different thing to actually act on it. Let's make sure we're doing the right one. (By the way, my community doesn't even have recycling...a point that i'll be bringing up at the next HOA meeting.)

Some 9-11 Weirdness

I don't know why nobody else is picking up on this (well, probably because Britney and Anna Nicole are far, far more important.) but i've been following this story on InfoWars and it's pretty interesting. A BBC report and reporter claimed that World Trade Center 7 had collapsed and talked about how it happened and then they zoom in, and the building is still friggin standing there. It's more than just a little suspect, especially when it looks like she's reading off of an official statement. How did anyone make that statement unless they knew the building was about to fall (or be demolished). And with the chaos of that day, what PR person or Public Information Office had the time to make a statement before something even happened.

They've been talking a lot about building 7 of the World Trade Center collapsing and how EMTs, cops and firefighters are hinting at the fact that they were pulled away from the building instead of fighting the few fires that existed inside and that the building was completely empty and then demolished in a controlled implosion. While this wouldn't seal the deal on some of the theories that the entire thing was faked, it would add to and somewhat substantiate some of the suspicions.

If you haven't watched Loose Change, you probably should. If even 1% of this whole theory is true, then i'm concerned.

Update: Story about WTC 7 and just how strongly it was built.

WTF Award of The Week

This is brilliant.

Links of the Week

I don't know how recurring this can be but since i'm donating a majority of my time to Championship Vinyl, i thought it would be a cool piece to show i'm still thinking about politics and world issues. I'll have a very large post about Rise Up Inc. as soon as i possibly can, but here's this until then.

1. Check out Rise Up. They are my new mission in life and i'm so glad to be apart of that organization in whatever forms i can be. Write me at adammack.wright@gmail.com if you would like more info on how to get involved.

2. We all have to buy gas. So which stations should you be supporting and which one's should you avoid like the plague? Check it out here. (Thanks to Nole for finding this.)

3. What if everyone lived like you? Take this quiz to see just how big of a footprint you're leaving on this earth. It occurs to me after taking this that no matter how much i talk the talk, i am not even close to walking the walk. I'm not even crawling the walk at this point. I use 5.5 earths and that isn't cool. It's a problem, and i'm working on it.

The WTF Award of The Week

Some bizarre space station love triangle thing. Yikes. Here's my favorite part:
"At the time of her arrest, Nowak was carrying a black bag containing a steel mallet, a 4-inch folding knife, a BB gun, 3 feet of rubber tubing and several garbage bags. A wig was found in a plastic bag in a nearby trash bin."

Apparently going to space isn't exciting enough anymore. But kidnapping, that's where the action's at.

Like being turned down for a date and asking her to marry you instead.

Bush now wants $300 billion.


I can't even comment anymore...it's just beyond words.

What do you want first? The good news or the bad news?

We'll go with the good news, in the form of this hilarious Washington Post headline (please God, let them have done this on purpose): Bush Complains About the Size of CEO Packages. Come on George, didn't Laura tell you that size doesn't matter???

Now the bad news:
The U.S. Government has wasted tens of millions in Iraq (i would argue a much, much higher figure, but maybe that's just me.) and guess what? They're asking for more!

And also this, which may or may not be true, but i just like severe Left-wing propaganda and feel like my diet is lacking it. (Be careful, there are some very honest and awful pictures of war violence on this site. Not for the faint of heart or those with easy gag reflexes.)

20,000 troops or 7 billion dollars?

This is what folks in the business world refer to as "throwing money at a problem."

All i know, is that it's a good thing Bush doesn't treat our school systems like that, just throwing money at it and hoping it gets magically better...we all know that "No Child Left Behind" is a much better plan. And besides, what do schools need money for anyway, it's not like they're buying bombs or killing people in schools.

Everything isn't Political

It occurs to me that it has been a while since i've posted anything not slamming president bush so i thought i'd mention the fact that American Apparel has been sold to an investment company.

And for as popular as the company is among the young, hip and socially aware, i really thought it would make bigger news. Do you really think they're going to maintain their non-sweatshop standards with someone else calling the shots? Especially when that someone else has dollar signs in their eyes? The article says that the investment firm only had $125 million in assets but is paying 300 million + to buy American Apparel, so that makes me think they'll be looking to cut corners any way they can to get that money back.

I've never been a huge fan of American Apparel to be honest. Dov the owner goes out of his way to say how against sweatshops and exploitation he is and then pretty much sexually exploits young girls and his female employees. If you haven't read the Jane Magazine article on him yet, you might have a tough time finding it. I looked for an hour for the archive of it and it's gone. It's not even in the press archives of the American Apparel web sites, kinda interesting. The dude is kind of a scumbag at worst and a sexual deviant at best. Exploitation is exploitation.

Just a warning to those people doing business with them to keep an eye out on their standards and ethics. I have a feeling some changes could be happening soon. And most likely very quietly.

Update: Here are a few more links on Dov Charney, American Apparel's very interesting owner.
Malcolm Gladwell's take
Inc. Magazine story
20/20 Interview

Killing at a 11 to 1 Ratio

The UN reports that 34,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of the war. Many organizations would say that this number is higher. If you remember way back when to the reasons we started this war, you would hear that Iraq harbored al-Qaeda hijackers (despite a specific lack of evidence to back this up) responsible for 9-11 in which 2,997 people died. And so we went over there to hunt terrorists. We've done the exact opposite over the last few years, actually making the problem worse by unifying the terrorists and creating new ones in the process.

So today we can celebrate that for every one person killed in the 9-11 attacks, we've killed 11 Iraqis. This doesn't count the original fighting in Afghanistan, the recent bombing in Somalia or any of the countless people we've tortured or executed in those "top secret" operations that we're so good at. (This number also doesn't take into account the 3,026 human sacrifices we've made in the form of troop deaths...which i feel now were pretty much entirely unnecessary. I think i would add them on the side with the 34,000 number to be honest.)

I've heard of an eye for an eye, but this is getting a little ridiculous.

America: Making the World Safe for Democracy

Or really unsafe for Muslims...

Didn't we bomb Somalia just the other day because the Islamic govt. set up 2 years ago was starting to take hold and become relatively peaceful?

And now this. So much for those freedoms we all know and (allegedly) respect. (Check this link too for more nausea inducing fun.)

The last time we were there we caused a Josh Hartnett movie. Do we really need that again, really?

(by the way, it may be propaganda but it least it's propaganda i can get behind. Check out infowars.com, because there's a war on for your mind. It has a lot of thought- (and blog) provoking topics.)

screwed by Bush

Yep, This is pretty much what Alaska feels like right now. And really that's the only response i'm going to muster. A lot of this shit makes me angry and i laugh it off, but this just upsets me entirely.

Vote Republican!

And this is what you'll get: Bush Lifts Oil-Drill Ban in Alaska's Bristol Bay

What a fucker.

Now i'm not a rabid environmentalist, but fuck with an area i've spent about the most wonderful 384 hours of my life in, and i'm going to be pissed off.

Is it January 2009 yet?

I'm really too mad to process the whole thing, hopefully i'll have some more commentary on the subject later.